Mubarak sentenced to three years in jail for corruption

The former president of Egypt and two sons are also handed fines over embezzlement during his rule.

Egyptian flag | source: Wikipedia.org

An Egyptian court has sentenced ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his two sons to three years in prison for embezzlement.

Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal were present in the caged dock on Saturday, wearing suits and sunglasses.

They had already been sentenced to three years on the same charges but an appeal court overturned the verdict and ordered a retrial.

The trio were also fined $16m.

Mubarak’s lawyers may try to appeal the verdict, the AFP news agency reported.

Supporters shouted in anger as Judge Hassan Hassanin announced his verdict and it was not immediately clear whether it will include time he has already served since his country’s 2011 revolt.

Some of those backing Mubarak wore T-shirts emblazoned with the former leader’s face. They waved and blew kisses as the 87-year-old entered the courtroom, according to the Associated Press.

Omar Ashour, a lecturer in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, told Al Jazeera the sentencing would be seen as „nothing“ by Egyptians who protested to end Mubarak’s rule.

„When we see the series of brutal abuses that happened under Mubarak in his 30-year reign, it will be seen as nothing, especially when we look at the trial happening now of former president Mohamed Morsi,“ he said.

„It tells you that there is very high politicisation of the judiciary.“

The corruption case, dubbed by the Egyptian media as the „presidential palaces“ affair, concerns charges that Mubarak and his two sons embezzled millions of dollars worth of state funds over the course of a decade.

The funds were meant to pay for renovating and maintaining presidential palaces but were instead allegedly spent on upgrading the family’s private residences.

Mubarak was sentenced to three years, his sons to four in the case, prior to having the verdicts overturned.

The hearing, at a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, took place in the same courtroom where Egypt’s first freely elected president, Morsi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

"It tells you that there is very high politicisation of the judiciary."